


Mellow Melody

by PeanuutFlower



Series: Smash! [2]
Category: Super Smash Brothers, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Coping, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Music, Rated T To Be Safe, Short One Shot, World of Light (Super Smash Brothers), ocarina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:13:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeanuutFlower/pseuds/PeanuutFlower
Summary: The soft sound of the music soon graced his ears, soothing him further, and he felt it chase away his gnawing anxiety, if only for a moment.
Relationships: Koopa | Bowser & Koopa Jr | Bowser Jr
Series: Smash! [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1915831
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Mellow Melody

The Dark Realm was... dark. Grim. Bleak. Desolate. Chaotic. Hopeless.

Discovering that there was a new enemy, a second abomination that they would have to fight, had sent the group of rescued fighters into a gloomy and somber state of mind.

Young Link had only been freed recently, and given a rough explanation as to what had been going on, courtesy of his friends. But that hadn't been necessary, as their eyes had had already told Young Link enough about how dire the situation seemed to be.

Ever since then, he had been sitting on a boulder, watching, silent, as his companions were bickering, the stress and fatigue taking a heavy toll on each and every single one of them. Even the usually cheerful and optimistic fighters were clearly down in the dumps, no matter how much they may have tried to hide the way they were feeling.

Young Link understood their sorry state perfectly: he may have been among the youngest of them, but he knew too well the perverse effects of despair and exhaustion on one's mind.

In an attempt to not lose hope and keep looking forward, they were currently trying to decide which companion they would free next. Pit argued that Dark Pit had to be saved first, while Simon countered that Richter would be a better fit if they were to have to battle Dracula, as his castle was looming on the horizon.

Chrom, on the brink of tears, was yelling that Lucina and Robin should be their next targets, while Ryu raised his fist at the man, shouting that Ken had more battle experience and should be freed before them, adding that there wasn't any place for sentimentality.

They almost stopped squabbling when Princess Peach broke down into tears, begging for the group to focus on freeing Daisy, but that didn't last long, as Ganondorf assured that going after Ridley would give them an advantage, Samus immediately growling at him for the suggestion, most fighters backing her up.

Bowser was one of the few that stayed silent, clinging to his wounded son who was fast asleep in his arms, and trying to hide his tears of relief from the others. He had volunteered to fight his own son in order to retrieve him, as he couldn't bear the thought of watching on the sidelines as his baby got hurt.

Young Link felt a twinge of compassion at the sight of this huge and powerful king looking so empty and exhausted, yet so protective of his child.

A scream rang out, and the boy tore his gaze away from the peaceful yet bittersweet scene, focusing back on the chaos that was taking place. To his surprise, a lot of his companions, no matter teens or adults, were looking like they were on the verge of fighting each other. In fact, it seemed as if Ryu, now on the ground, had taken a punch to the face, while Ganondorf was having a standoff with Samus and Link.

Kirby, Mario, Lucas and Mega Man were among the few begging everyone to stop and think, or even physically restraining the feistiest of their friends, afraid they would get wounded and tired out over nothing.

Witnessing such discord and tension, a familiar, unwelcome feeling bubbled up in Young Link's chest. He felt like his throat clogged up, his chest constricting and his breathing becoming ragged, as his eyes started watering.

Nobody took notice of his state, too preoccupied with the looming threat of an all-out battle between most of the members of their incomplete group.

Unfortunately, Young Link was used to dealing with this, and quickly recognized the signs. Thinking fast, he reached for his belt, and untied his ocarina.

He gently threaded his fingers across its surface, focusing on the texture and sound, and gave a few experimental taps of his fingers on the instrument, building up a rhythm that he dutifully followed with his shaky breathing and the rise and fall of his chest and belly.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

In.

Out.

Longer. Slower. Steadier...

Once he felt he had regained an acceptable grasp on his breathing, Young Link brought his ocarina to his lips, expertly tuning the instrument, and closed his eyes as he played a few notes, letting his heart guide him into finding a song to bring to life.

The soft sound of the music soon graced his ears, soothing him further, and he felt it chase away his gnawing anxiety, if only for a moment.

He kept on playing and immersed himself into the melody, ignoring the world all around him.

He couldn't tell how long he had been playing for when he stopped, but he realized then that all he could hear was silence.

Soon, the silence was broken by a clap. And two. And three.

Young Link opened his eyes to some of his companions applauding him, others choosing to simply smile his way, while the rest pretended that they hadn't just been listening to him play like everyone else.

The boy felt a smile playing at his lips, realizing that his song had somehow managed to soothe his companions' weary hearts as well, and put a welcome halt to their anger and frustration.

But as beneficial as this small break was, they still had a battle to win, and people to save. Thankfully, the hylian boy's melody prompted the fighters who had previously been at each other's throats to reconcile, and compromise.

Together they came to an agreement and managed to come up with a satisfying plan for all parties involved, and Young Link observed as some of his friends' eyes lit up, a spark of hope settling in their soul, that would surely stay with them until this nightmare was over and done with.

**Author's Note:**

> Just felt like writing this. Inspiration struck me and I rolled with it.  
>  _Young Link is important: change my mind._
> 
> Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed! ^^


End file.
